Coworking’s Growing Place in Business

Corporations’ increasing need for short-term and flexible space is driving greater demand.

As a sociology fan, I find it interesting to observe patterns of adaptation in business as well as society. Historically, individuals have had to adapt to business much more than the other way around (with the obvious exception of larger social movements like campaigns for workplace protection laws).  

More recently, business has become more sensitive to the workplace preferences of large incoming generations, notably Millennials and Gen Z, which have bucked previous generations’ willingness to just fit in. But the shifts in how and where work is conducted have been much more significant in the past few years, as individuals and companies alike have responded to the necessities and flexibilities brought on by the pandemic.

The coworking sector has been a big beneficiary of this more recent shift, and its continued ability to adapt is expected to result in even greater expansion. The industry will nearly triple by 2028, according to CommercialEdge projections, to $37.4 billion from $14.3 billion last year. What’s more, it’s likely to become a much more significant player in the office space, comprising 30 percent of all office inventory by 2030, up from just 2 percent currently..